Dec 22, 2024 
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

Neil McClendon, Lead Pastor

What Love Makes Us Love
I John 3:11-24

1. Love the message, v. 11-15

Zoe is the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical. Life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new and better experiences; including a more perfect body which will last forever.

2. Love the opportunity, v. 16-22

When you love the opportunity three things happen…

a) think differently, v. 16
b) see differently, v. 17
c) love differently, v. 18

To see means to perceive with the eyes, to discern, to ascertain, find out by seeing. Looking is directing your eyes in a particular direction but to see means to notice or become aware of something by using your eyes. 

“I would rather die right now than live a life of obvious ease in so sick a world.”
       
        -Nate Saint, Christian missionary, martyr 


3. Love the simplicity of the Gospel, v. 23-24

a) acknowledgement
b) agreement 
c)  surrender


Mental worship…

1.   Is there anybody in your life that is hard to love right now? 
2.   Do you feel as if you have the life of eternity inside you longing to get out?
3.   Has the love of God caused you to do anything lately that you by nature wouldn’t normally do?
4.   What does it sound like when your heart condemns you?
5.   Does the way you live give you assurance concerning your salvation?

Dec 15, 2024
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

Neil McClendon, Lead Pastor

What To Do While We Wait
Luke 12:35-48

1. Be ready, v. 35-36

Ephesians 6:15


2. Stay awake, v. 37-38

2 Peter 3:1-4
2 Peter 3:8-10


Signs we are falling asleep spiritually:

1) no appetite for spiritual things
2) prayer is an afterthought
3) reduce Christianity to conversion only
4) rationalize sin as an expression of personal power
5) fail to prioritize your faith
6) more opinions than experiences
7) often offended but rarely convicted
8) evaluate more than you experience
9) more preferences than priorities
10) obedience is determined by your willingness 


3. Be consistent, v. 41-48

Ephesians 2:4-7


Mental worship…

1. What emotions stir in you when you think about Jesus’ return?
2. Is there any spiritual truth that you have grown sleepy towards?
3. Do you understand the relationship between man’s nature and man’s need? 
4. How often do you think of God as kind?
5. Would you describe yourself as spiritually consistent? How would you describe yourself spiritually?

Dec 8, 2024 
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

Clyde Copeland, Worship Pastor

The Way Of Peace
Luke 1:67-79

1. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. v. 67
-Luke 1:6

Three miracles in Zechariah’s family
a. Conception of John the Baptist
b. Zechariah loses his speech
c. Zechariah could speak again

“The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children.” -GK Chesterton

2. You can’t understand Jesus without the Old Testament, v. 68-74

-Genesis 12:2-3
-2 Samuel 7:16
-Luke 24:27

3. Advent has more to do with the ministry of John the Baptist than the birth of Jesus, v. 76-77
(*I’ll refer to the pictures here I sent in the other emails.*)
-John 3:28-30

4. Jesus is the only way to peace, v. 78-79
-Isaiah 59:8

Mental Worship
1. What blessings have you experienced from ordinary or mundane events?
2. If you were to read a passage in the Old Testament, would you be able to understand how it points to Jesus?
3. Of all things you can prepare for, how do you prepare for the second coming of Jesus?
4. Peace with God, peace with others, peace with self: of these three, which do you need more of?

Dec 1, 2024 
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

Neil McClendon, Lead Pastor

How To Be  Hopeful To The End
Hebrews 6:10-12

Hopelessness is a feeling of despair or lack of hope that life can feel better than it has been.

The people progression of hopelessness…
PARENTS..…PEERS..…SELF…..GOD…..NIHILISM


Nihilism is the rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life has no meaning and therefore is hopeless.

Hebrews 6:13-20


1. Faith

Few thoughts about faith…

a) our faith is not in our faith/religious traditions
b) our faith is not in ourselves
c)  our faith is a verb
d) our faith is in God

1) His promise is rooted in “Surely I will…”
2) His purpose hasn’t changed, v. 16-17
3) Our hope has a name, v. 19

Two things about the order of Melchizedek…

a) eternal nature
b) dual office- King/Priest


2. Patience, v. 15

Romans 4:16-25


Mental worship…

1. How often do you feel sluggish spiritually?
2. What part of speech is your faith? Noun, adjective, verb, preposition, adverb? 
3. What do you think is God’s purpose for your life? 
4. If God were trying to convince you that something is really true, what would that thing be?
5. How is your soul these days?
6. Do you have religious traditions or an actual relationship with a real God?

Nov 24, 2024 
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

Dr. Christopher M. Brooks
Pastor to Pastors | Local Church


How to hear the voice of God
1 Samuel 3 NIV


How God speaks

How to hear God when He speaks

How to know if it is really God speaking



HOW GOD SPEAKS
 
 • His word (Hebrews 4:12)
• People (Acts 9:10-18)
• And they don’t always agree (Acts 21: 4-6) .
• Circumstances (Romans 8:28)
• Creation (Psalm 19:1-2)
• Music (2 Chronicles 20)
• Thoughts and Impressions (1 Cor 2:16)
• Pictures and Images (Psalms/parables/John 10)
• Dreams (Acts 2:17)


HOW TO HEAR GOD SPEAK

• Sit still and Quiet yourself (Psalm 46:10 / Luke 5:16)
• Smile back at God and say Hi (Numbers 6:24-26 / Exodus 33:11)
• Exercise the authority of Christ over all other voices(James 4:7 / Luke 4:35) 
• Ask God to make his presence known to you (psalm 70:1).
• Ask God to speak to you (1 Samuel 3:10).
• Ask God to search your heart and bring up anything that needs his healing touch (Psalm 139:23-24)
• Write down any impression God gives you (Matthew 7:24-25)


Common Barriers to Hearing God
• Unrepented Sin
• Pride
• Business of Life
• Distractions away from God
• Unresolved conflict with others
• Unforgiveness for others
• Lack of faith in God
• Lack of effort


What hearing from God is not:

• A trump card
• Hammer
• Only for the super spiritual
• Easy


How to know if it is really God speaking (or just me talking to myself)?

• Confirmation with the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
• Cooperation with the Spirit (John 14:26) But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
• Collaboration with your Spiritual Family (Colossians 3:16) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

= = = = = = = = = = = =

Mental Worship

1. Do you want to make the choice to hear God's voice?
2. Pray this scripture to God: Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.
3. What do you think God wants to say to you?
4. Can you recall a time when you felt God speaking to you? What did he say? How did He communicate with you? How did you respond?
5. What is blocking you from hearing God?
6. Where do you need help d

Nov 17, 2024 
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

Neil McClendon, Lead Pastor

Components of Biblical Faith - Part 3
The Final Judgment
Acts 24:24-25

Introductory thoughts… 

a) Being nonjudgmental will not get you out of judgement. 
b) The final judgment is good news. 
c) The final judgment reminds us that evil won’t triumph.
d) The final judgment explains the Gospel. 
e) The final judgment is forever. 


Four Things About The Final Judgment

1. The dead will be raised

• Acts 24:14-15
  
  

2. Everyone is being judged and will be judged

• 2 Peter 2:4-10
  
  

3. The Christian and the non-Christian have different experiences of judgement

• Revelation 20:11-15
  
  

A few things to notice…
a) All people will stand before God in judgement
b) How you live indicts you on judgement day
c) A person goes to hell because they don’t have a relationship with Jesus

• 2 Corinthians 5:10
  
  

A few of things to notice…
a) Judgement for the Christian has nothing to do with their salvation
b) For a Christian, judgement is about recognition and reward for the life you lived on earth
c) Some rewards will be lost because of how we lived

4. The motivation for becoming a Christian shouldn't be to escape judgement but to experience fullness

• Psalm 37
  
  

= = = = = = = = = = =

Mental worship…

1. Do you ever think of the final judgement as good news?
2. How does knowing that everybody lives forever, just in different places, inform and affect the way you share the Gospel?
3. Can you feel when you are experiencing God’s judgement?
4. Do you believe that the life you are currently living will be rewarded in heaven?
5. What brings you comfort when you feel hopeless about the state of the world today?

Nov 10, 2024 
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

Components of Biblical Faith- Part 2
Self-Control
Galatians 5:16-25


Introductory thoughts…

1. There is a difference in self-control and self-discipline.

2. Thinking about this should cause us to think deeper about our salvation.

3. Self-control requires a power greater then self. 

1. Walk by the Spirit, v. 16

To walk by the Spirit is what happens when the desires produced by the Spirit are stronger than the desires produced by the flesh. The Holy Spirit produces desires in us that are in keeping with God’s word and lead us into the experience of God’s will.

“I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

• Ezekiel 36:24-27
  
  

2. Be led by the Spirit, v. 18

This means two things…

a) not under the laws condemnation

b) not under the laws constraint


Progression in our posture towards the Holy Spirit…     knowing…..understanding….trusting….enjoying


1



3. Crucify your flesh, v. 24

Crucifying the sinful nature is really the identification and dismantling of idols. Crucifying the flesh is about strangling sin at the motivation level, rather than simply setting ourselves against sin at the behavioral level. Real changes in our lives cannot proceed without us discerning the idols and desires that come from our individual sinful nature. 

• Tim Keller    
  
  

 Four root idols that drive our behavior: 

a) Power: a longing for influence or recognition

b) Control: a longing to have everything go according to my plan

c) Comfort: a longing for pleasure

d) Approval: a longing to be accepted or desired

“The evil in our desire typically does not lie in what we want, but that we want it too much.”

              -John Calvin


4. Keep in step with the Spirit, v. 25

This means you...

Live from the inside out in a world full of people who are living from the outside in. 
It is to live in bondage to the invisible in a world full of people who live in bondage to the visible. 
No longer fear getting caught, you fear missing out. 
Understand that Deep calls out to Deep and you got tired of that producing an echo in you. 
Don’t need external rules because you are now governed by an internal Reality. 

Mental Worship
1. How often do you think about the Holy Spirit?
2. Can you feel how the Holy Spirit leads you to be careful when it comes to obedience?
3. Where are you in the progression towards the Holy Spirit? Knowing…understanding…trusting…enjoying?
4. How well do you relate to the cycle of stopping, starting and quitting?
5. Of the four root idols of power, control, comfort and approval, which one do you deal with the most?

Nov 3, 2024 
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

Dr. Sam Storms

Enjoying God
Luke 12:32

Oct 27, 2024 
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

Neil McClendon, Lead Pastor

Components of Biblical Faith- Part 1
Acts 24:22-27

1. Righteousness

As it relates to man it refers to the doctrine concerning the way in which man may attain a state approved by God. 

When it comes to righteousness man is …

A. By nature unrighteous 

B. By effort self-righteous


Self-righteous quiz...

Do you ever think of yourself as better than others because of what you do or don’t do? 
Do you ever relate to God as if nothing bad should happen to you because you are a good person or because you’ve been good?
Do you withhold forgiveness from anyone because “they don’t deserve it.” 
Do you ever treat people with contempt? 
Do you insist on maintaining a low sense of self-worth? 
You think you're right with God because of anything you’ve ever done in your life good or helpful.  
You like people knowing when you do good things. 


C. By faith made righteous

   

Mental worship…

Are people more comforted or convicted by the way you share the Gospel?
In what ways does your self-righteousness express itself?
Do you find it difficult to transition general conversations into gospel conversations?
What is the source of your righteousness?
Do you know what it means to contextualize the gospel?

Oct 20, 2024 
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH

Neil McClendon, Lead Pastor

Communion
I Corinthians 11:23-32